art is true global language, knows no nation, it favours no race and it acknowledges no class .. it speaks to our need to reveal, heal and transform
ABOUT
ABOUT
Vinko Kalcic, an internationally renowned artist based in London. He is a true force in the world of contemporary art. Since the early 1970s, Vinko has exhibited his work across Europe, both individually and as part of group exhibitions. Last year, Vinko’s artwork was displayed alongside works by some of the greatest artistic luminaries of our time, including the king of pop-art, Andy Warhol, the father of British pop-art. Sir Peter Blake, author of David Bowie’s iconic Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust album covers. Terry Pastor, French impressionist and modern painter. Marcel Mouly, and British abstractionist artist Rose Hilton.
From a very young age, Vinko displayed an extraordinary talent for art. At just six years old, he began creating vivid, cartoon-inspired drawings fueled by his boundless imagination. As he grew older, Vinko honed his craft and began painting in naïve art style, characterised by its childlike simplicity, which Vinko has since redefined and evolved throughout his career.
Vinko’s artistic prowess has taken him across Europe, where he has exhibited in numerous Art galleries in Italy – Milan, Rome, Turin, Venice, Udine, Trieste, Como. Also in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Ireland. He holds a degree in Fine Art and Design, and his relentless pursuit of artistic and personal growth has led him to study multimedia, such as “Digital Compositing for Film/Video” at Escape Studios in London, and “Creative Studies” at Queen’s University in Belfast.
Vinko’s art is not just about aesthetics; it is a powerful visual medium with the symbolic message for healing. His family experienced a tragedy during World War II that left deep emotional scars on Vinko. In the tragic event of April 30th 1944, the village of Lipa (then Italy) was completely destroyed by German Nazis and Italian Fascists and all villagers, 269 brutally killed (only two survived). They were mostly old men, women, and children. Number of them were brutally killed in their houses. Majority of them were burned alive in a small house in the end of the village. Vinko’s grandparents were among them.
‘TUBULAR BELLS WITH CHILDREN OF IRELAND’ The opportunity to put his concept ‘The Art Of Healing’ into action came with his involvement in a cross-community outreach project facilitated by the Northern Ireland Peace & Reconciliation Board. Working with Tom Newman, acclaimed producer/engineer of Mike Oldfield’s legendary Tubular Bells’. Vinko provided visuals (design/photography/video) for an exciting reworking of this masterpiece with around 800 segregated schoolchildren in number of schools across Northern Ireland. The idea was to give children the opportunity to unite re-creating this classic album and record in the classrooms. The album was called ‘Tubular Bells With Children Of Ireland’.
‘THE ART OF HEALING’ In 1996, using the powerful words of Pete Seeger, Tommy Sands composed ‘The Music of Healing’, a plea for understanding and reconciliation that transcends borders and boundaries. The title of this piece of music inspired Vinko to call his Art ‘The Art Of Healing’, leading to a series of artworks that explore the theme of healing. By mending the broken pieces, we are learning to embrace our scars and painful life experiences. In the process of repairing things that have broken, we actually create something more unique, beautiful and resilient. Much like the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi* inspired by Zen Buddhist philosophy.
Over the centuries, Zen masters developed an argument that pots, cups and bowls that had become damaged shouldn’t simply be neglected or thrown away. They should continue to attract our respect and attention and be repaired with enormous care. This process symbolising a reconciliation with the flaws and accidents of time, reinforcing some big underlying themes of Zen. On its surface, Kintsugi is merely repairing ceramics. However, in the Buddhist context, things are never as they appear on their surface. At the surface level, kintsugi is mending objects. But, at a deeper level, we can understand kintsugi as resolving the “crack” in one’s own life and focusing on enlightenment. *KINTSUGI The shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa is credited with the introduction of Kintsugi back in the 15th century. When a precious tea bowl was repaired with metal staples, he commissioned craftsmen repair the ugly damage with gold. The finished object was elevated beyond what it had once been. While it was more beautiful and more valuable, it also served as a compelling reminder that there is beauty in fragility and value in broken things. When we honour an object or a person for what they have experienced, we elevate them and in this process the healing works wonders.
Vinko’s art is on Word’s Leading online Art Gallery
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